SAO: Unrestrained
by Love Faith Embers
Summary: Two sisters decide to try a VR game together, but what happens when they are trapped? This is a story of two Americans being the first to play the Japanese game, SAO. Meet Alexis and Bella, new to the virtual reality scene. They are out of their league, but maybe they can find themselves on their journey. Kirito/Asuna, Klein/?, Agil/his wife (as much as I don't like it)... lol.
1. Chapter 1

**This is just an idea I had earlier this week. "What if my sister and I tried a VR game together?" However, I won't be using our names, lol. :) I hope you enjoy this fun story. I'm listening to "Good Time" by Alan Jackson, "Check Yes or No" by George Strait, "Should've Been A Cowboy" by Toby Keith, and more on Pandora while I write this.**

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Prologue:

Alexis heard a knock on the front door, and she walked over to open it. The mailman was halfway back to his truck. "Thanks," Alexis said, bending down to grab the box that was delivered. She brought the box inside. "Bella, guess what?" Alexis looked up to find her sister coming out of the kitchen.

"What?" Bella was a 5'5" tall woman with dark red hair, forest green eyes, and lots of curves. She looked at the box in her older sister's hands. "What's in there?"

"You know how I've been wanting to try VR?" Alexis saw her baby sister nod, "Well, I emailed a company about a VR game, and they talked to their Japan counterpart. They sent us both a copy of their VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online." Alexis put the heavy box down on the couch. "They want us to try the game out to see if the game will be a hit in the US." She opened the box with a knife. Inside, were two NerveGear headsets, two games, and a manual. "Wow!"

Bella walked over and looked. "That's some cool stuff!" She glanced at the dog at her feet. He was dancing in place. Checking her phone, she saw it was three o'clock. "Would you take Hoover out? I'll grab us some snacks and then we can start trying it out."

"Alrigh'." Alexis grabbed the halter and leash. She hooked the pug up and slipped some shoes on her bare feet. Out the door she went with the eleven year old dog.

Bella shook her head. She wrote a short note for her mom. 'Lexi took the dog out at 3. We're trying out a new game for a company. We should be out by 6, for Dinner.' She left the note on her mom's computer, and went back to the kitchen. She grabbed two bananas and two sodas, before heading to their room. She set a banana and a soda next to her sister's bed, and placed the others next to her own bed. She went back to the living room to move her computer to the bedroom. They couldn't afford the newer computers of the time, so they all had old computers. Bella then opened her computer. She heard Alexis walk in with Hoover.

Alexis unhooked the leash from the dog and hung it on the back of the door. She scooted the dog out of her way. Reaching for the treats, she gave him one and put the bag to the side. She saw the note on their mom's computer and smiled. Then she grabbed the box that came in the mail. She walked into their bedroom, put the box at the foot of her bed, and grabbed her older computer. It had a disk drive, unlike her newer computer, so that was the one she'd be using.

The sisters set up everything, making sure that the computers were installing the game, and looked at the NerveGear. It had a cord, not to charge it, but to connect to the computer to be connected to the network. Unfortunately, the end of the cord was round, so the only place it could be plugged in was the power slot. "I hope the NerveGear charges the computers," the sisters say at the same time. Then they laughed. They never got over the fact that they sometimes spoke the same thing at the same time. Crossing their fingers, the girls unplugged their computers and plugged in the NerveGear. They open the game on their computers and set up their characters. They snacked as they worked. Then they put on the headset, and had to pat themselves down for 'statistics' the manual said.

Alexis sat down on her bed and looked at her sister. While her little sister was a little heavyset, pale, and average in height, Alexis was different. She was 5'1", had dark brown (almost black) hair and blue-gray eyes (legally hazel, but they change from blue-gray to green-gray to green to blue-green... sometimes brown when angry), olive skin, and she had a tiny upper waist with curves. She was a little overweight, but she was trying to lose twenty pounds to be healthier. Alexis smiled when she noticed that her sister was looking at her. "Ready?"

"Ready," Bella replied. She laid down, and tried to relax. She made sure to select the English language for the game. "Link Start!" Her eyes closed.

Alexis sighed. She read the manual again, and it said to close the game on the computer, but she saw her sister still had hers open. Alexis saw that the computer screen showed her sister looking around at the world. Alexis decided to leave the game open on her computer too... just in case, and she laid down on her bed. She selected 'English' and said, "Link Start!" Her eyes closed, and she was transported to a new world where she hoped to fit in.

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 **I thought about leaving it here, but I just couldn't. :) I'm having fun writing this... and I hope you enjoy reading this!**

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...

Chapter 1: SAO

Alexis blinked slowly. The Town of Beginnings was beautiful! She looked around, and her hair fell in her face. The avatar she went with had honey-brown ringlets that fell to the middle of her back, jade green eyes, 5'6" tall, slender form, C-cup breasts, flat stomach, and sun-kissed skin. She wore low-cut hip-hugger jeans, knee-high black boots, and black corset with a cream crop-top/off-the-shoulder shirt over that. Alexis suddenly wondered where her sister was. She walked through the crowd, looking for her baby sister. She passed a guy dressed in all black, and a guy with red hair and a bandana around his head. The guy with red hair was looking at knives. Alexis kept looking, not noticing a few looks from guys here and there. Then she saw her sister. She was at a weapons stall. Alexis ran over, her chest bouncing slightly. "Bella."

Bella turned. "Lexi?! How'd you know it was me?" Her avatar was 5'6" as well, had red-gold hair (super short in back, just below her chin in front, with two longer locks - one on each side), green-gold eyes, and she was curvy (but not as curvy as real life). She was wearing a pale green kimono top, medium brown leggings under a cream knee-length skirt, and she had light armor on.

"Heya. I glanced at your computer screen. Wow! You look good, sis!" Alexis looked her sister over.

"Thanks. Well, in here I go by Ember. What do you go by? And you look good too." Ember took her sister's appearance in. "Simple and flattering."

Alexis smiled. "Thanks, sis. I go by Pyra." She noticed that her sister was holding a glaive, and had knives and a steel fan (called a Battle Fan). She turned to the weapons stall. She found another Battle Fan, and a really beautiful sword. It had a thin, but strong, blade and a hilt that fit her hand perfectly. She tested the weight of the sword. It was a good weight. Pyra paid for the fan and sword and turned to her little sister. "Well, Ember, I need to get a bow and arrows... just in case. Shall we stick together?"

Ember nodded. "Yes, let's. Sisters always stick together." The sisters smiled at each other. Then Ember led Pyra to a stall that held everything she needed. When that was done, the girls went to a field to practice. Ember saw two guys practicing on a wild boar. "Hey, y'all! Can we practice with you?"

The two guys turned, and the one in black blinked his dark eyes. They were slightly taller than him, maybe a few centimeters? He mentally shook his head. "Yes, sure." (To him, they were speaking Japanese... so he didn't think that maybe they might be American) He waved them over, and he told them how to attack, just like he told Klein. "My name's Kirito, by the way."

"I'm Pyra," said the golden-brown haired girl. "And this is my sister, Ember."

The red-gold haired girl waved.

Klein stared at the two girls. "H-hi. I'm Klein." He blushed slightly.

They all practiced how to attack for a little over an hour. The sisters even practiced with their backup weapons. Lying on the ground after that workout, Ember spoke, "So, what are y'all doing after this?"

Kirito replied, "I'm going to continue to level up. Otherwise, I don't have anything else planned."

"I have a pizza coming at 5:30," Klein said.

"We have to leave shortly after that, to make it to Dinner at 6:00," Pyra replied to the readhead.

"Then, you all have a problem," Kirito said, "It's 5:25."

Everyone looked at the clock in their menu. "Ah! My Pizza!" Klein was horrified. "Well, I better go. See you, ladies; Kirito." Everyone waved at him in goodbye. He tried to log out, but the log out button was gone! "What? I can't log out!"

"What?!" Ember and Pyra exclaimed at the same time, jumping up at once.

"That's impossible!" Kirito checked his menu, and the log out button was gone there too.

Everyone looked at each other. "Maybe it's an error?" Pyra offered, worried.

"And maybe they'll send out a system message saying that they will fix it?" Ember finished.

"I don't know," Kirito replied. He looked at his companions, and then they all heard the echoing gongs of a large bell. Then all four of them were surrounded in a bright light, before they were transported to the square in the Town of Beginnings. Kirito looked around in confusion.

Pyra looked around. "What?" Then the sky filled with red 'Warning' tiles that turned to 'System Update'. Pyra looked relieved for a moment until a red liquid dripped from the dome and formed a person.

 **"Many of you have noticed that the log out option is missing. This is not an error. I repeat, this is not an error. This is all part of my design. I designed a world that only I can control.**

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 **AN: Kayaba's speech is the same here as it is in the anime. :) I hope you like the Prologue and first chapter! I'm trying to get back into writing, so please bare with me. The next chapter will be out soon, I hope. This is fun! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is just an idea I had earlier this week. "What if my sister and I tried a VR game together?" However, I won't be using our names, lol. :) I hope you enjoy this fun story. I'm listening to Pandora while I write this. Now, back to the story:**

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Chapter 2: The Nightmare Begins

Pyra's face paled. "We're stuck here? And if we die here, we die in real life?!" She shakily opened her menu and looked in the inventory. "A mirror?" Clicking on it, she looked at her reflection and was enveloped in light. When the light faded, she looked around. People were shocked that they were back to their real life appearances. She looked down at her body, and winced when it looked like her waist seemed a little thicker. She also noticed that her breasts went back to their A/B-cup size. She sighed. Well, at least the outfit still fit and looked good... Pyra looked to her right, where Kirito and Klein were, and saw a boy in black that was now taller than her and an even taller guy with short red hair. "Kirito? Klein?"

The guys turned, and looked at her. "Pyra?!" They asked at the same time.

"Yes, yes... the shorty is me," Pyra said, sarcastically. She pouted and brushed her short hair out of her eyes.

The guys had another shock when they saw Ember. All she did to them was raise an eyebrow, like 'Are you going to say anything?'. She turned to her sister. "What are we going to do? Mom and Dad are gonna be worried!"

"They'll be more than worried, sis. They'll be scared outta their minds!" Pyra sighed. "I just hope they don't try to take the NerveGear off." Ember nodded. Then, when everyone was finally able to leave the square, Pyra led Ember out of the area. "No matter what, we stick together and look out for each other," she said as they walked. She left the guys behind because she didn't want to get too close to them only for the guys to die on her. She knew that was selfish, but she didn't want to feel the pain of loss that harsh again. Losing her grandfather years ago was bad enough.

Ember grasped her older sister's hand tightly, showing her fear that way. "Ok. I don't think I want to fight that much, though. I'll help you grind, but I think I'll be better creating armor instead."

Pyra nodded. "I agree. That would suit you. I'll fight if I have to... but I won't be a PK'er! PK'ers in this Death Game are worse than murderers." She hugged her younger sister. "Let's go." The girls walked side by side out of the Town of Beginnings, and into the fields to grind and level up.

...

Pyra swung her sword, and cut along the Wolf's side. "Switch!" She jumped back and watched her sister jump in. It had only been a month, but it was still crazy...

Ember jumped in, swinging her glaive with a practiced ease, and cut the Wolf's throat. The wolf burst into blue and green pixels. She smiled, and turned to her sister. Pyra was staring into space. "Pyra?"

"Huh?" Pyra looked at Ember. "Ready to head to the next town?"

"Sure, but, are you okay?" Ember walked over to Pyra.

"It's just..." Pyra sighed. "You keep hearing about the 300 plus people dying and their families grieving. It's just... horrible!" She stood there for a few minutes, trying to get the images out of her head. She looked at Ember. "Sorry. I don't mean to brood. So, what do you want to eat tonight?"

"Hamburger." Ember knew that her sister wouldn't want to keep talking about the deaths.

Pyra laughed. "I don't think that their hamburgers are up to our standards, lil sis."

"Nothing here is. Food in this game don't fill you up. What I wouldn't do for a real good burger."

"Maybe you should up your cooking skill, and make us some good food? Your cooking was always better in rl." Pyra smiled at her sister as the walked towards the next town.

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 **I thought about leaving it here (Again), but I just couldn't. :) I'm having fun writing this... and I hope you enjoy reading this!**

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...

Chapter 3: The first floor boss

Two girls sat on stone steps. They were waiting for the meeting to start. Ember looked at Pyra. Pyra had been really quiet lately. About two weeks ago, Pyra went out on a quest while Ember had spent the day making armor for them. Pyra came back that day in a daze.

"Hello. My name is Diavel. Today we will be discussing the floor one boss-" Diavel was a blue-haired guy, but he got cut off by a guy with spiky orange hair.

The guy with spiky orange hair jumped his way down to where Diavel was. "Wait! What about the 2,000+ players that have died since the game started?" The guy's name was Kibaou. "The Beta testers got the good equipment, went to the best areas, and got all of the good drops without helping the newbie players! All those deaths are their fault!"

Kirito clenched his fists, and saw a talk black guy standing up. However, both guys were surprised when a short girl with short, dark brown hair stood up and walked down to where Kibaou and Diavel were. Her fists were clenched, and her eyes glared daggers at Kibaou. When she reached Kibaou, she shocked everyone.

"You self-righteous bastard!" Pyra said in a low tone. "You think that the Beta Testers didn't help us? They gave us the guide book that you have in your inventory, for free! They passed the information to everyone. They taught us how to attack and level up! You know what? The other day, I was on a quest with a few other newbie players and a beta tester. We had just grabbed the items dropped when several orange players -newbies, of course- surrounded us and killed most of us. One of the ones killed was a little thirteen year old girl, who died in my arms. The beta tester also died in that battle. So don't you dare tell me that beta testers got all the good stuff and left us all to rot!" Pyra's voice cracked. A tear slid down her cheek. "Grow up and sit down." She turned and started walking back to her sister. Before she got to the first step, the tall guy placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with teary eyes. Her vision blurred.

Ember ran down the steps to her sister. "Come on, Pyra. Let's go sit down." Ember led Pyra up to where they were sitting before. She rubbed Pyra's back, but Pyra wouldn't let tears fall anymore. "It's ok to cry."

"Not here." Pyra's voice was a little gruff from holding the tears and sobs back. They listened to the instructions that Diavel gave, and Pyra walked over to where Kirito and a hooded figure sat talking. "Kirito, would you like to form a team with Ember and I? You probably already teamed up though..."

Kirito turned to look at her. "We just teamed up, but I'll send you and Ember invites too." He smiled up at her. He opened his menu and sent invitations to join his team.

"Thank you, Kirito. I feel better with someone I know." Pyra smiled at the kid. Then she accepted the invite and motioned her sister over.

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 **AN: Please forgive the wording issue in last chapter's description of the NerveGear cord. My sister just pointed it out. The next chapter will be out soon, I hope. This is fun! :D**

 **AN 2: I wrote this chapter last night, but uploaded this morning because I wanted my sister to read it. :) But, you know how sisters are... She knew I needed her to read it and let me know what she thought, but she's reading instead. Sisters! Lol. :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is just an idea I had earlier this week. "What if my sister and I tried a VR game together?" However, I won't be using our names, lol. :) I hope you enjoy this fun story. I'm listening to I(heart)Radio while I write this. :)**

 **Warning: I forgot to mention, but this story will have cussing. If you haven't noticed before, you will now. I'm sorry if that offends you. :( Boo, sorry... It's just my character and some others. And, Boo, sorry about my little dig at you here... You'll understand which part I mean. :)**

 **Now, back to the story:**

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Chapter 4: The End of the Beginning

The teams were all fighting Illfang the Kobold Lord. Pyra got a few cuts in, but she was knocked to the side. She pulled herself up to her knees, and fired off a few arrows. She saw Ember throw knives at the floor boss and cut it with her glaive. Kirito and Asuna took turns cutting the boss and in a fury of cuts, Kirito defeated the boss. "Yes!" Pyra shouted.

Kibaou yelled. "He knew that the boss would change weapons to something different from what we were told! He has to be a Beta Tester!"

"Are you still on about that?!" Pyra hissed at the douchebag. "If you had any common sense, you'd have noticed that our leader knew what he was doing when he leapt to attack alone! Furthermore, you would have also felt that something was different. You're nothing but a -"

"Pyra," Ember interrupted. "Come on, he's not worth it." She led her sister to the door leading to Floor 2. "Let's get out of this dang game."

"Hahaha... Yes, Let's get out of the damn game." Pyra laughed. She and her sister left the Boss Room together, and took the first step to their future.

...

Pyra wouldn't ever tell her baby sister, but she was still hurting from having her teammates die in front of her or in her arms. A few months later, and it was still affecting her. If she didn't do a certain something to release the pain, she would still be an empty shell. Pyra saw her sister enter the restaurant where they were supposed to meet. She waved a hand at the NPC waiter, and he brought the pre-ordered drinks over to their table. "Hey, sis. Don't get mad about my choice of drink for you, please."

"It's alcoholic?" Ember asked, exasperatedly.

"Sort of."

"How is it 'Sort of'?" Ember shot back.

Pyra smirked. "Alcoholic drinks in this game don't affect you at all." Her smirk widened. "There isn't any alcohol in these alcoholic drinks. Just think: It's a virgin, just like you."

Ember stared at her sister for a moment. "Well, at least I know you're back to normal." She glared. "Just don't say stuff like that again!"

"I'll try not to, but you know my mouth just runs off with me." Pyra laughed. "Alright. Here's to sisters, finding ourselves, and getting the heck out of this stupid game." She raised her pint.

Ember raised her pint. "Cheers."

"Salute," Pyra replied, clinking her pint against her sister's. Then she took a long drink. She had to frown, though.

"What? Does it taste bad?" Ember asked.

Pyra shook her head. "Tastes like tea... unsweetened tea."

Ember laughed and took a little sip from hers. "You're right!" She frowned. "Hmm. Oh well."

"Yes, oh well," Pyra replied. They sat and drank their drinks. "A few more months, and it will be a year since we got stuck in here. What level are you now?"

Ember sighed. "Level 43. I have also maxed out my cooking and armory skills."

"Wicked!" Pyra sipped at her drink. "I am level 58 and I've gotten halfway on my cooking skill. I don't think I'll max that skill out. I'll help you cook sometimes, but I leave the majority of that to you." She laughed.

Ember couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I thought so." She looked around, and saw Kirito and Asuna sitting at a table nearby. They seemed to be talking about something important. When they jumped up, she said, "Something's up."

Pyra nodded. "Yep. Let's see if we can help?" Ember nodded, and Pyra threw back the last of her drink. She set the pint glass down on the table and both sisters got up. They left the building to see Kirito riding off on a horse. "How the hell did he find a horse so fast?" Ember just shrugged in response. "Ugh, let's just find a horse. A big-boned one," Pyra continued. She spoke to a guy, and came back with a huge horse. The guy brought over a step, just in case they needed it. Pyra put her left foot in the stirrup, grabbed the reigns and saddle horn with her left hand, and grabbed the back of the saddle with her right hand. She knew she looked silly trying to get up on a big horse without using the step, but she used her left leg to push and her arms to pull herself up, and then she was in the saddle. She looked down at her sister. "Ready?"

Ember swallowed. "Ready." She watched her sister move her left foot out of the stirrup, and the guy from before placed the step down by the horse. Ember stood on the step, and placed her left foot in the stirrup. She gripped Pyra's offered hand, and struggled up behind her sister. She removed her foot from the stirrup to give it back to Pyra. "We've never doubled up on a horse before."

"We'll be fine. Just hold on." Pyra nodded her thanks to the stableman and then nudged the Stallion into motion when she felt her sister holding on. "Keep an eye on Kirito's marker on the map." They took off, galloping through the town and then through the woods.

"He's up ahead; He's stopped," Ember said. They rode for a few minutes, and stopped when they saw Kirito. Ember slid off the horse and rubbed her butt. "Ow... I don't ride much." She looked at Kirito. "Hi, what made you ride out of town so fast?"

"Uh, hi." Kirito explained briefly what was going on up to that point, while watching Pyra swing off of the horse. He blinked.

"Yikes. It's been a while," Pyra said, rubbing her inner thighs (over her jeans, of course). She stopped and stood up straight.

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 **AN: Thank you for your patience so far! I know that this is happening pretty fast (3 chapters in 3 days - unless you count the multi-chapter pages, then it's 5 chapters... lol.), but I hope you love the story!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning: I forgot to mention, but this story will have cussing. If you haven't noticed before, you will now. I'm sorry if that offends you. :(**

 **Now, back to the story:**

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Chapter 5: The Bi*ch...

Pyra looked up and saw the three cloaked red players. She frowned. "Do you need backup, Kirito?"

"I probably won't need it, but if it comes to it I'll appreciate your help. Thanks, Pyra," Kirito replied. He turned back to the Laughing Coffin trio. "Add two to the 30 coming. Do you still want to try me and them?"

Ember had her knives at the ready. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Pyra was on one knee (to better stabilize her bow, and better use her core) with her bow and arrow ready. They were ready for anything.

The three Laughing Coffin members pulled their weapons back out. One of them said, "We'll just kill who we came to kill; Then we'll leave. No one else need be hurt." He chuckled.

"Are you stupid enough to think that we will let you?!" Pyra asked, incredulously. "Here's two words for you: F-"

"Pyra..." Ember warned.

Pyra glanced at her sister from the corner of her eye and sighed. "You're right, sis." She looked back at the guy from Laughing Coffin. "I'll make it four words: See you in Hell." She fired an arrow and watched it sail through the air. The guy with the axe cut the arrow in half, and Pyra said, "Dang it!"

Ember said to her sister, "Let's coordinate our attacks." She threw her knives and saw Pyra shoot a few arrows.

Kirito was going to do something, but he stopped when he got distracted by the arrival of Asuna and Grimlock. He heard the knives and arrows hit the ground. He glanced over and saw that the Laughing Coffin members were gone. Glancing back, he looked back at Grimlock.

...

Pyra and Ember were surrounded! Red players, the Laughing Coffin guild, had swords on them. Ember looks at her sister, winks, then starts to spin with her glaive as Pyra ducks to the ground. The red players were flung back from the sudden blow, their health bars missing a third.

Pyra stood up. "Nice, sis! Hurricane Spin, huh?" She noticed the red players getting back up. "Oh, crap." She got ready, seeing her sister doing the same. Pyra got caught up in sword fighting, and got separated from Ember. She couldn't see her sister anymore, but she was swamped trying to defeat the red players. She was losing HP, and getting tired.

Ember was trying to keep the red players at bay, but some of them had knives that they threw at her. She wiped sweat off her forehead. "Ah!" She cried out. A knife had embedded itself in her thigh. Her body suddenly seized up, and she fell forward. A little symbol next to her HP bar showed that she was paralyzed!

"Damn red players," Pyra cursed, cutting into one guy. She didn't see that her sister was in danger because she was being overwhelmed at the moment.

"Nng!" Ember tried to get up, but the paralyzing effect kept her still as the red players tried to cut her HP down. She looked up from her position on the ground and saw that her sister was in trouble. Her eyes widened. Then over her sister's falling body, she saw Klein' guild appear! They were saved, possibly...

Klein cursed. He sent three of his men to save Ember and he and the last guy ran to save Pyra. He attacked furiously! He and his teammates all worked hard to take out the Laughing Coffin guys. Combined, they conquered the red players. Some of the Laughing Coffin died, and some got away. Klein went to Ember first, and pulled the knife out of her leg, before he went over to Pyra. He saw that her HP was close to red so he gave her a health potion. He sighed in relief. He picked Pyra up and turned to his guild. "Let's take them somewhere safe." His team nodded, and someone picked up Ember, before they teleported to an Inn on floor 53. Klein laid Pyra on a bed, and saw Ember being laid down in the second bed in the room.

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Chapter 6: Too Quiet

(Warning: Trigger! This situation isn't for death, but for release)

Ember was worried about her sister. Pyra hadn't spoken, or gone out to grind, in the months since the ambush and rescue. She had locked herself in their room, only letting Ember in, or coming out to the restaurant area to eat barely enough to satisfy a bird. Ember was practically watching her sister waste away right in front of her. Maybe she was blaming herself for being in that situation? Ember looked at her sister's sleeping form and sent messages out to Klein, Kirito, Agil, Asuna, Lizbeth, and Silica.

It took about an hour for all of them to assemble in the restaurant below the rooms. Asuna asked, "How bad is it? You just mentioned that you need help with Pyra."

"She's wasting away," Ember replied. "She barely eats, she's depressed, and she sleeps all the time. I think that she blames herself for us nearly getting killed." Ember sighed. "I don't know what to do!"

Kirito and Asuna looked at each other. Asuna got up and walked upstairs to the room. She knocked. "Pyra? May I come in?" She didn't hear anything.

Pyra slid the fan against her wrist. She felt the familiar tugging sensation and saw a thin line of red appear on her arm. Pyra also felt the pain and depression leave her a little bit as the cut healed instantly. She sighed in relief. Then she heard a knock and Asuna's voice. She stood and walked to the door. She opened it and said, "Hi, Asuna. What's up?" She tried smiling and found it still a little hard...

"I came to check up on you," Asuna replied. She looked Pyra over, and didn't see anything wrong except the obvious depression.

"I'll be ok," Pyra said. "I'm hungry. What do you say we go downstairs and grab something?"

Asuna nodded. "Sounds good." She was a little worried how Pyra avoided the situation. She'd just see how much Pyra ate downstairs.

The two girls walked downstairs and when Pyra saw everyone that was sitting around the table, she was surprised. "What's going on?" She saw everyone was staring at her.

Klein stood up. "We were worried about you. Listen: that incident wasn't your fault. The Laughing Coffin set a trap for you." He walked over to her and gently touched her cheek. "After you eat, why don't we go walk around the town?"

Pyra blushed slightly at the attention. She wasn't used to guys flirting with her in this game. "Um, sure." She saw her sister smiling, out of the corner of her eye.

Klein smiled, leading Pyra to the table. He pulled out the chair next to his, and watched her sitting down, before he pushed the chair in slightly and sat down in his own chair. He motioned over the NPC.

Pyra ordered two fish fillets and some fries with a soda. She ate, under the watchful eyes of her sister and friends.

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 **AN: Thank you for your patience so far! I hope you love the story! I'm sorry about the late update... I worked on this chapter for three days, took a few days off to let the chapter come naturally, and took a day (roughly) to finish this chapter up. It was hard to write this chapter because my dog died Monday morning (the 13th). Then my sister's birthday was the 14th. Chapter six is for the word prompt "Cutting". Chapters 7 & 8 will hopefully be coming out soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning: I forgot to mention, but this story will have cussing. If you haven't noticed before, you will now. I'm sorry if that offends you. :(**

 **Now, back to the story:**

* * *

Chapter 7: Captured!

After a few months of dating, Pyra and Klein got married. They had a private wedding with just their friends in attendance. Pyra and Klein had a little cottage on the 22nd floor near Kirito and Asuna's cabin. The cottage also had a second room for Ember. Pyra smiled at the memories. She had found that she didn't need to cut as much since she started dating Klein. Right now, Klein was on his way to fight alongside Kirito, Asuna, and the others. Pyra looked around and saw her sister practicing with her battle fan. She walked over. "Ember?" she asked, quietly so she didn't startle her sister.

Ember caught the fan and looked up. "Hey, Pyra. Want to join me?"

"Sure." Pyra stood a couple of feet away from Ember. "I'm ready."

Ember lightly flipped the steel fan into the air. Then Pyra caught it by the base and tossed it back into the air. The sisters kept the fan in the air, flipping and twirling the heavy fan. Soon, they had a small crowd of watchers as they had fun. When they were done practicing, they looked at each other and laughed.

Pyra got a message from Klein. "Hold on," she said, opening the message. It said, 'Hey, this looks to be a big one. I hate to ask, since it hasn't been too long since that ambush, but I need your presence here. I love you, wife. -Klein' Pyra looked up at her sister. "Sorry, Ember. Klein needs my help. Are you going to be okay here?"

"I'll be fine. I need to get more supplies to make better armor." Ember smiled at Pyra. "You go on. Try not to die."

"I'll try." Pyra answered Klein's message: 'I'm on my way. I love you, husband. Don't die. -Pyra'

Ember hugged her older sister. "Bye for now."

"Bye for now," Pyra replied, hugging Ember back. She turned and used a teleport crystal to get a little closer to where Klein was. Pyra had a few run-ins with monsters on her way, but she finally made it to the place where Klein and the others were fighting a boss, before they proceeded.

...

Ember watched her sister disappear and then went to a mine she knew of that would give her exactly the right materials for the armor she wanted to make. She hit a large crystal with her battle fan, since it was the strongest of her weapons, and gathered the ores and crystals from it. She was happily mining and didn't notice the figure coming up behind her. The figure raised it's hand and swung down with a silver knife.

* * *

Chapter 8: The Bi*ch is back!

Pyra entered the room where Klein was. She looked around, shocked. Everyone was paralyzed, except Kirito and the leader of the KOB (Knights of the Blood Oath). Klein saw her and his eyes went wide with fear. Pyra started towards him, but the KOB leader (Heathcliff) spoke to her, stopping her in her tracks.

"My, what are you doing here, Pyra?" Heathcliff asked, turning towards her.

"I was told that the next boss fight might be big and that I was needed," Pyra replied, warily. She started to creep closer to Klein.

Heathcliff spotted it. "Stop right there!" He watched her freeze and he smirked. "You weren't going to try to release him, were you? You see, I'm the final boss. This is my world and I have stopped everyone from interfering with my battle with Kirito. But, don't fret, after I'm through with him you can avenge your sister's death." He chuckled at her look of shock and despair.

"What?!" Pyra barely noticed Kirito, Klein, Agil, and Asuna's sympathetic looks. She fell to her knees, feeling her world crash around her. Her blue eyes stared up at Heathcliff.

"Yes, I sent a messenger to her location." His smirk came back full force.

Her head dropped down, and a few tears hit the ground, before one of her knees came up. Pyra stayed like that, one knee on the ground and one foot holding her up, for a moment and a blue glow surrounded her right hand. She lifted her head and her eyes were a brownish color, with sparks of what looked like fire in them. She was pissed! She pulled up her menu and briefly wrote a message to her love. Then she moved! Her sword appeared in an instant and she was in front of Heathcliff, slamming her sword against his. Her moves were quick and just as furious as her mood.

Heathcliff was shocked! She had never moved so fast before! He blocked every swing of her sword, but she tricked him... She acted like she was going to swing around, but when he went to block it, she stabbed him instead! Heathcliff's eyes were wide.

Pyra's mind cleared a bit, just enough to ask Kirito, "Do you want to finish him off now?"

"No, go ahead." His eyes were sad for her, knowing that she needed this.

She nodded. Then she pulled the sword out of Kayaba, and swung it at his neck. Right as her sword got close, he used his own sword like she had earlier. Her eyes widened and she heard cries of "No!" Pyra struggled to continue her swing, and she cut his head off. Afterwards, she glanced at Klein with sadness in her eyes as she fell.

Kirito ran forward and caught her. He couldn't believe it.

Klein felt the paralyzing effects leave him and he got up, running over to her. "Pyra! No, please don't leave me!" She muttered something, and he strained to make out the word 'Inbox'. Klein nodded. "I'll look at it in a bit. Take a health potion, please." He begged her.

Pyra shook her head, "Too late." She felt Kirito pass her to Klein and saw him hold onto a crying Asuna. Looking back at Klein, she said, "I love you. I wish we could have gotten to meet in the real world." She reached up to cup his cheek and chuckled weakly. "You know, I didn't like you at first because you were ogling every girl you saw. You kinda grew on me." She noticed her health bar had just a sliver of red left. "Tell me you love me," she begged while looking into his eyes.

Klein swallowed hard. "I love you, Pyra." Tears flowed down his cheeks and he bent down to kiss her lips. Her lips were soft against his, before she shattered into millions of blue and green prism shards. Klein stared at the shards for a minute before sobs shook his body. He didn't want to, but he had to know what Pyra wanted him to know. He shakily brought his menu up and opened up his inbox. **'Klein, my love, I'm sorry. I can't live, knowing that I was the cause for my sister's death. If I hadn't brought her into this game, she'd still be alive. On the other hand, you are the best thing that happened to me in these two years. I love you and I wish we could have really gotten married. I would have been honored to have become your wife. I have something to tell you. I'm actually American, not Japanese. This is my address... please tell my parents that I'm sorry that I got Ember killed. I love you. Sincerely, Alexis.'** Klein let out a scream of pain and frustration.

Kirito held Asuna close. His head was on hers. A message popped up: "Game Cleared!" A bright light surrounded everyone, and they all disappeared at once.

...

A girl sat on a ledge, watching a sunset. She sighed sadly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a young-looking man walking towards her. "Kayaba?"

"Yes," he replied. "It's over. All of the surviving players have been logged out." He turned to look at the sunset. "She's not dead."

Her head jerked up at him in surprise. "She's alive?! I died for nothing?"

"I lied when I said she was dead. And, you'll be surprised." He smiled down at her mysteriously. They watched as Aincrad fell apart, dropping into space, and then shattering.

* * *

 **AN: I hope you love the story! Chapter 7 is for the word prompt "Captured". :) Chapter 8... well, when I was 15 (a few days before my 16th Birthday) a hurricane came and hit the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana. Our school was reopened a week later, but you know how kids are: I was bullied when we returned to school because my name and the Hurricane's was the same. One kid said, "Hey, she's back! The B* is back!" So, while this phrase has some bad memories behind it, it also has a positive message: that no matter how bad things seem, you can always stand up and fight back. :D I had a really hard time writing chapter 8. I almost burst into tears... That would have been awkward to explain... I hope you review to tell me how you like this so far.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Warning: I forgot to mention, but this story will have cussing. If you haven't noticed before, you will now. I'm sorry if that offends you. :(**

 **This chapter has a sad part. Just letting you know! Now, back to the story:**

* * *

Chapter 9: Home

 _~Two Years Earlier~_

 _Marie unlocked the front door to her apartment. She smiled when she saw her dog, Hoover, sleeping on the couch. She quietly put her purse and jacket on the hooks on the wall. Then she slid her shoes off, and turned around just in time to see Hoover blinking and lifting his head. When he turned his head and saw her, she laughed. She walked over to him before he could jump down and hurt himself. Marie loved on her baby, "Hi, Hoover. Did you miss me?" She saw a note on her computer, and read it. She rolled her eyes, seeing that it was almost five p.m. She had stayed at the Hospital a bit late to finish some last minute tasks. She took the dog out thirty minutes later, after checking her email. When she got back, she went to ask what her girls wanted to have for Dinner._

 _She opened the door to their room, and saw them lying peacefully on their beds with the headgear on. She was confused on what they were. Looking at Alexis' computer, and Bella's, she saw her girls talking to two boys. Marie turned up the volume on Alexis' computer and listened in. She wanted to see what was so fascinating about this game. She'd leave shortly, before her girls logged out, so they wouldn't think she didn't trust them._

 _"I have a pizza coming at 5:30," said a redheaded boy._

 _"We have to leave shortly after that, to make it to Dinner at 6:00," the honey-brown haired girl replied._

 _"Then, you all have a problem," the black-haired boy said, "It's 5:25."_

 _Marie started to leave, thinking that her daughters were about to log out, but then she heard:_

 _"What?! I can't log_ _out!"_

 _Marie turned around sharply. Her girls were stuck in a game?!_

 _"What?!" The two girls jumped up._

 _"That's impossible!" The dark haired boy said, checking his own menu._

 _One girl said, "Maybe it's an error?"_

 _The other replied, "And maybe they'll send out a system message saying that they will fix it?"_

 _Marie lost the last bit of their conversation, because she was trying to shake Bella awake. She panicked when she wasn't successful. Then she called for an ambulance. She had to get her girls to the hospital so they could be kept alive till they could be disconnected from the headgear._

 _..._

 _~Present time~_

Marie and her husband, Timothy, sat in the hospital room looking at the two figures lying on the beds. Marie had gotten special permission to have her dog in the hospital for one reason. She lifted Hoover onto Bella's bed and it wasn't long until Bella's eyes fluttered open. "Bella!" Hoover crawled up to touch Bella's foot.

Bella groaned. She looked around, seeing white everywhere. Then she saw her parents. "Mom? Dad? Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital," Timothy answered. He glanced over at Alexis, but she still wasn't awake. Looking back at Bella, he said, "Your mom had you two brought over here when you got stuck in the game."

Bella nodded. She saw the dog, and when he crawled closer, she began to pet him. He panted up at her as if saying 'I'll miss you', and he had a full-body shudder before he went still. Bella's eyes widened and she jerked her head up to look at her parents. They walked over and said their goodbyes to their dog. All three of them had tears running down their faces.

A few minutes later, dark eyelashes fluttered and blue eyes opened. Eyes took in the ceiling for a minute before they looked to their left and saw the sad scene.

Bella looked over at her sister. "Alexis. Hoover's dead! It just happened," she cried out.

Alexis blinked. Then she shot up when it hit her! She was a little dizzy, but she looked at Hoover's body. Seeing his still body, she reached a shaky hand out but couldn't reach. Her mom helped her out of the hospital bed, and held her as she petted the dog for the last time. A few tears ignored her silent order and slid down her cheeks. She didn't want to cry. She wanted to be strong for her family. Her mom and sister were sobbing and even her dad was crying. Alexis looked into the sweet face of her beloved dog. "You were the sweetest little dog. I'll miss your cute howls when we squeezed your favorite squeaky ball. Goodbye, little man." She sniffed.

Timothy grabbed the crocheted blanket that they had brought, and laid it over their dog like they were tucking their child into bed. He then watched as his wife of 30 years help their oldest child sit back down. "Let's get those helmets off of your heads."

Bella startled slightly. "Oh, I forgot..." She reached up and shakily pulled off the headgear. Her red hair had grown a little, now reaching her waist. The only reason why it hadn't grown longer was because her mom kept trimming it to keep it neat. "Wow," she said, feeling how soft her hair now was and seeing how long it was.

Alexis stared at her sister's hair. 'Mine's probably a mess... It's been under this headgear for two years.' She asked her mom, "Mama, would you please help me? I can't lift it. I don't know why."

Marie looked sadly at her daughter. "It's because you're weaker than Bella right now. You both lost a lot of weight." She gently pulled the headgear off of Alexis' head and stared at the black waterfall that fell around the girl. Alexis' hair had been trapped under the headgear so no one could trim it, and being under the headgear kept it from the sun, so her hair was back to being jet black and was now down to mid-thigh. Marie held her hand out to Timothy. "Comb."

Alexis watched her mama as her hair was combed. "You won't cut it, will you?" she asked worriedly. She wanted to keep her long hair. Marie shook her head and Alexis sighed in relief.

* * *

 **AN: I hope you love the story! Chapter 9 is for the word prompt "Home". :) I hope you review to tell me how you like this so far.**

 **Oh, the scene with the dog dying was pretty close to what happened with Marty (my dog). However, dad was out of town when it happened, and I don't know how my sis reacted. All I know is that Marty's heart stopped working. This chapter was so hard to write! I started tearing up several times as I wrote. I didn't think I could write chapter 10 as well, so that will be in the next update.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning: I forgot to mention, but this story will have cussing. If you haven't noticed before, you will now. I'm sorry if that offends you. :(**

 **Chapter 9 was really hard for me to write... Just letting you know! Chapter 10 was already written for a long time, but chapter 11 took ages, because I'm trying to focus on my future career. Now, back to the story:**

* * *

Chapter 10: Recovery

Alexis held onto the bars on either side of her in a death grip. She glanced at her sister who had already graduated from relearning how to walk. Then she looked back to the front and strained to slide her left foot forward. It was only the second day that she had been able to even try to walk. It was only the day before yesterday that she was still in a wheelchair, after two months of recovery time. Alexis hated feeling weak. Both girls had lost a lot of weight: Bella had lost the most during her confinement (a hundred pounds, bringing her down to a healthy weight for her age and height), and Alexis lost fifty pounds (bringing her down to 84 pounds, and underweight). Alexis was now 95 pounds. **(Please note that I am not a professional in the health field. Not every body is the same. What research I did shows that with a weight of 134.5, and a height of 5'1", I have a BMI of 25.4 which means I'm overweight. According to that, I can be 99-120 pounds, and be healthy.)** Alexis struggled to walk the rest of the four feet of walk space. Of course, she had encouragement from Bella and the nurse that was in charge of their exercise.

Bella called out encouragement. Her sister was still pretty weak. Bella was also weak, but at least she only had to gain some muscles. Alexis had to gain weight and muscles. Bella looked up and smiled at her parents. They were all back together... for good.

...

Every day, Marie watched her daughters grow stronger and healthier. She was a little concerned about how light Alexis still was. After almost a year of being back in the real world, Alexis was now up to 110 pounds. However, Alexis swore up and down that she felt completely healthy, and really there was nothing wrong with her. Marie was finally able to bring her girls home today, so she walked into their hospital room. They were talking, while sitting cross-legged on Bella's bed. Marie spoke, "Hello, girls. What's going on?"

Alexis looked over her shoulder at her mom. "When we were told we were going home, Bella and I agreed that we didn't want to stay here in this town. When I told her where I wanted to go and why, she said she wasn't going to let me go alone."

Marie swallowed hard. "Where do you want to go?" She was worried.

The brunet smiled. "I want to go to Japan. I want to find the guy who I fell in love with in SAO."

"Are you sure you love him?" Marie asked her eldest. When Alexis smiled and nodded, she continued, "Ok. We'll all move. I'm not letting you two go to another country alone..." She was wary of the move, and the reason why, but she didn't want to lose her girls. She had already finished her last day of work at the hospital since turning in her two weeks notice two weeks ago. She quit so she could spend more time with her babies.

The three women walked into the apartment half an hour later and the younger two ran to their room to pack. Marie packed for herself, and got started on packing things that they wouldn't need during the next month. She sent a message to her husband. **~ Tim, please put in your three weeks notice. The girls feel like it's too painful for them to live here and Alexis wants to find that boy she fell in love with. We started packing all the things we aren't currently using. I'm also going to look for a small house in Japan. Love you. ~** She continued packing.

Alexis and Bella walked around their room, putting things into tubs. "I can't wait!" Alexis said, smiling at her sister.

"I know," Bella laughed. She was happy for her older sister, finding true love.

* * *

Chapter 11: Meeting old friends

The four of them were finally in Japan. This past month was hectic with all the packing and moving arrangements... Alexis put all of the tubs in her room (with some help from her dad, since the big tubs were heavy). She noticed that the bed, end table, desk, dresser, and bookcase that they had ordered had arrived. "Glad that they are here..." Alexis thought about the placement of the furniture. The desk was in front of the window, the bookcase was to the right of the desk (between it and the wall), the full-size bed was on the wall opposite the window (with the end table next to it) and desk (facing the window as well), and the dresser was just inside the room (to the right, when you opened the door. She liked the layout. It left plenty of room in the middle of the room. There were even two doors on the other side of the dresser. Alexis immediately began unpacking the tubs.

Bella drug a tub into her room. Just inside the door, to the right, was a desk. Her twin-sized bed was across from the door, facing the door, with an end table beside the bed. There was a window in the middle of that wall, a bookcase (to the left of the door), and two doors that she soon found out led to a walk-in closet and the bathroom she shared with Alexis. The rest of her room was bare. Bella opened the tub and found her clothes. She drug the tub to her dresser. As she emptied the tub, she thought of the yarn storage cubes she was going to put in her closet. It was a 2x3 unit, so it fit very well under the bar in the closet.

While their daughters were unpacking, Tim and Marie looked at all of the tubs and boxes in their new living room. Marie shook her head. The problems of moving, especially to a different country. "Well, let's get our stuff into our room." She and her husband drug a tub into their room and began unpacking.

...

Alexis was finally done for the day! She still had a bit to unpack and organize, but she was exhausted! She opened her newer computer, turning it on, and pulled up the search engine. Alexis couldn't wait to find Klein again. Once the search engine finished loading, Alexis searched for anything having to do with SAO: lists of players, who died, who was logged out when the game was cleared, and the real names of her friends. She got in touch with a guy that was in charge of investigating SAO, and she told him who she was. When she asked him how to get in touch with Klein, he told her about being in touch with the guy who was Kirito in the death game and how the main players of SAO were meeting that evening at a bar. Alexis gasped aloud, and begged him not to let them know that she and her sister would be there. She got the directions to the bar (in English) and she ran to Bella's room. "Bella! We can go meet the group from SAO! They're meeting this evening!" She beamed at her sister.

Bella smiled. "Alright. Let's let mom and dad know." She started to leave, but her older sister stopped her briefly.

"Don't forget to grab your ID. They're meeting at a bar." Alexis let Bella go, and ran back to her room. She hurriedly brushed her knee-length hair and put it up in a ponytail. She also grabbed a sweater, since it was a little chill, and then grabbed her purse. Her outfit of the day (since she was moving in) was a t-shirt, jeans, socks, and sneakers. A very simple outfit for Moving Day, but she didn't want to change now, even though she was a little sweaty... because she was anxious to see Klein. Bella came into her room, with her wallet. Alexis turned to Bella, and asked, "Ready?"

"Yes," Bella replied. The girls walked outside, and walked the three blocks to the bar. "I can't believe it's so close to our new house!" She exclaimed, breathing a little heavily.

Alexis nodded, panting slightly. Their asthma was acting up in the new environment. Alexis opened the door to the bar and they walked in. Alexis bent over a little, trying to catch her breath.

Agil looked up from his talk with Kirito and Klein when the door opened. "Sorry, we're closed for a private party." Everyone turned to look at the two at the door.

Bella smiled. She didn't understand what he said, but she could guess... "It's okay. We're actually here to see y'all," she replied in English. Agil looked shocked.

Alexis straightened, and looked around at the people sitting in the bar. She saw a girl that must have been Asuna sitting with the blacksmith girl and the girl with the dragon. She also saw a black-haired girl sitting with them, but Alexis didn't know her. At the bar itself, Alexis saw a black-haired boy (Kirito, her mind supplied) and a very familiar redhead! "Klein!" she exclaimed. She had eyes for no one but him.

Agil looked at the brunet. He recognized the language that both girls used, and could understand them. He thought they looked familiar. Then it hit him! "Pyra? Ember?"

Klein wondered who the girl was, and he wondered how she knew him. Then when Agil spoke, and the brunet nodded absently, he gasped. "Pyra?" Tears came to his eyes. Pyra smiled at him, and when he stood up, she ran into his arms. He held her tightly, burying his face in her ponytail. He couldn't believe that she was really here! 'Wait, she died in the game!' He pulled away from her. "You died!" He looked her over. She had happy tears in her eyes, and a few had slid down her cheeks when they were holding each other.

Alexis looked at Agil. "What did he say?"

"He said, 'You died!'," Agil translated for her.

They all got caught up, with Agil translating for both Japanese and English. They didn't realize how late it was until Bella's phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and answered it, "Hey, mom." ... "Yes, ma'am. We'll leave now." ... "Yes, ma'am. See you soon." Bella hung up, and turned to Alexis who was cuddling up with Klein, kissing. "Alexis, we have to go." She watched as Alexis reluctantly pulled away from Klein. Bella smiled.

Alexis' head was buzzing from the drinks she had, but she stood up straight. She looked at Klein. "I'm sorry, Klein. See you later?" After Agil translated for them both, she nodded and left the bar with Bella... waving to everyone as they walked out of the bar.

* * *

 **AN: I hope you love the story! Again, sorry it took so long (especially for chapter 11 to be written). Please leave a review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning: This story will have cussing. I'm sorry if that offends you.**

 **Back to the story:**

* * *

Chapter 12: Learning a bit of the Language

Alexis was sitting at her desk, trying to learn Japanese. "Konnichiwa," she said as she wrote it out. "Hello." She even wrote down the Hiragana form (こんにちは). "Sayonara. Goodbye." She wrote that down too (さよなら). She was eager to learn Japanese, so she could talk with Klein without Agil having to translate.

Bella called out, "Lex, Dinner!" When her sister made it to the dining room, she handed over a plate full of pasta.

"Thanks."

The whole family sat and talked between bites, when Timothy looked at his eldest. "So, Alexis, when do we get to meet this Klein fellow?"

Alexis giggled. 'Klein fellow' She swallowed her mouthful of food, and spoke, "I'll get in touch with Agil, who is another of our SAO friends, and see when would be a good time. You see, Agil speaks English so he'll have to translate still." She hesitated, before adding, "We'd be meeting in a bar, but I can ask Agil to keep the alcoholic drinks in the back."

Timothy nodded. "Ok." He went back to eating.

After dinner, Alexis went straight to her room to send Agil a message. *Agil, it's Alexis (Pyra). Dad wants to meet Klein, so is it possible for us to meet at the bar, and have the alcoholic drinks hidden away? Dad doesn't drink. Thanks.* While she waited for a reply, she went back to learning. "Arigatou. (ありがとう) Thank you. Ohayou. (おはよう) Good morning. Ohayougozaimasu. (おはようございます) Also good morning, but super polite and respectful." Alexis wrote these down, and stretched. She felt good, learning a new language.

Half an hour later, Agil's reply came through: *Alexis. Yes, that's fine. I'll be closing in a few minutes, so you can come over now. I'll call Klein asap. Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, and tea sound good? :) *

Alexis smiled, and left an affirmative message. Then she ran into the Living Room. "Agil said we can come over now. He's going to call Klein. Don't worry, Dad, no alcohol will be available tonight." She smiled again. Everyone slowly (too slowly for Alexis) grabbed their jackets and put on their shoes. Alexis and Bella led the way down to the bar, trying not to hurry the others (on Alexis' part). When they made it to the bar, Alexis opened the door and walked in. She saw Agil behind the bar, pulling out the sodas and tea. "Konnichiwa, Agil."

Agil lifted his head at the Japanese, and saw Alexis and her family. "Konnichiwa, Alexis-san."

Alexis wrinkled her nose at the honorific. "Agil, you can just call me Alexis." She grinned. "Need help?"

"I'm good here," Agil replied with a smile. "Klein should be here soon. He'll be off work in a minute."

"So he does work?" Timothy asked. "What kind of work does he do?"

"Construction," replied Agil.

* * *

 **AN: Please leave a review! Sorry this chapter is so short! I'm going through a stressful time right now, looking for a house... trying to get back into school... etc.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Warning: This story will have cussing. I'm sorry if that offends you. Also, if you read 'A World Apart', then you know what this very short chapter is about... :(**

 **Back to the story:**

* * *

Chapter 13: Devastation!

A few days later, Alexis was waiting to hear news about her paternal grandmother, who was having surgery that day back in America. She was currently on her computer, looking up the reviews for the new game that Kirito was trying out. Man, she needed to start using their real names instead, but it was just habit to call them all by their SAO character names.

"Alexis," her dad said, "Your grandmother came out of the surgery just fine. The doctor said that it's looking good."

Alexis smiled. "I'm glad." When he left, she went right back to reading the reviews. She wasn't sure she wanted to play the game, but she could now at least have a knowledgeable talk about the game instead of just sitting there with no clue. Then she turned to playing one of her computer games, just passing the time till Dinner.

A few hours passed, and Tim walked into their house with food and a long face. He gave his wife a sad look which expressed everything he couldn't say in that moment.

"She didn't make it?" The older redhead asked.

Tim shook his head. "It happened about twenty minutes ago."

Alexis and Bella shared a look of shock and sadness, before looking at their dad as he passed out the food. Alexis couldn't believe it! The doctor said that her grandmother's recovery looked good! How dare he say that, and she die afterwards! Luckily, her face didn't show her anger, and fear, only her sadness. After dinner, Alexis ran to her room and fell onto her bed, crying herself to sleep.

...

The next morning, Klein came to talk to Alexis. He was allowed in, and he asked Alexis, "What happened yesterday? You didn't show up at the party." His English was much better after having studied furiously with Agil.

"My grandmother died yesterday," Alexis said. Her voice came out as a monotone and her face was blank.

Klein frowned, sadly. "I'm sorry, Alexis." She shrugged, and he pulled her into his arms. He tucked her face into the curve of where his neck met his shoulder. It didn't take long before her slight frame started shaking. He rubbed a hand up and down her back, murmuring in Japanese to sooth her.

Tim and Bella watched the couple with sad smiles. It was the first time they saw her cry this hard in years, and they knew that Klein was good for Alexis. Maybe they could all heal from this tragedy. Tim only wished his wife could also see this, but she was at work at the closest hospital.

* * *

 **AN: Please leave a review!  
**


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